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“It’s been extremely positive,” Abbott said of season ticket sales for 2015-16. “Our numbers are off the charts right now for season tickets for next year. I think the excitement is definitely here. I think people are embracing the new Reign.”

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Abbott, who remains the president of the Los Angeles Kings’ current AHL-affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. Taking over the Reign, he’s been going coast-to-coast keeping tabs on both teams as they start preparations for next season.

But getting to know his new surroundings in the region, as well as the fans and staff has been a priority.

“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “I’m having a great time getting to know the staff, getting to know the fans. I got to go to Reign Day and meet a lot of people with our fan draft. We had a great crowd there – a thousand people came out for that. We had three or four sell outs in a row. I’m very impressed with how the community rallies around this team. Very impressed with the building itself. Steve Eckerson and his staff do a great job. I’m most excited about my staff that I inherited from (former team president) Justin (Kemp). There’s some great people.”

The Reign announced last week that the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley’s 6th annual jersey night sponsored will be on Saturday, March 14 at Citizens Business Bank Arena at 6 p.m.

The Reign will take on the Utah Grizzlies while wearing jerseys (above) designed by Matthew Seymour and Zachary Seymour. The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off live immediately after the game to benefit Humane Society programs and animals in our community.

In addition Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water will donate one pallet of water to the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley for every goal scored by the Ontario Reign.

As injuries and call-ups change a roster at the minor league level, teams often have to bring in players from the outside to fill the gaps.

For the Ontario Reign, the latest gap came at the goaltender position. With Jussi Olkinoura is up with the St. John’s Ice Caps and all-star Joe Cannata injured, the Reign were forced to find someone else to mind their net.

Columnist Lou Brewster would like to remind everyone that while the Reign’s future looks bright, the current version of the team is in the playoff hunt …

As the originals prepared for one of the handful of games remaining on the schedule, and possible careers, in two hours, the Ontario hockey torch was being passed in grand fashion two floors above.

It just didn’t seem possible, or fitting, we had reached such a point. Understandably, its about progress and a bright future, but weren’t we in the same position seven years ago? Yes, the Reign has a new back-and-silver logo and an adjusted path that will start in the fall, but let’s remember the orange-and-blue is still going strong, despite the concerns of its future.

When Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles in 1988, it launched a surge in the popularity of hockey in California.

What followed was the expansion the NHL to Anaheim and San Jose, as well as growth at the minor league and youth levels.

Now, some 27 years later, as the Ontario Reign transition from the ECHL to the American Hockey League, the team will pay tribute to the past — and its future as the Kings’ primary minor-league affiliate.

Columnist Louis Brewster takes a look at the reaction to the Stanley Cup paying a visit to Citizens Business Bank Arena …

Why is the Stanley Cup so popular, even among non-hardcore hockey fans? Could it be because fans and touch, embrace and get pictures taken with it, like they did Friday night in Ontario at Citizens Business Bank Arena?

The average fan can’t do that with the trophies offered by the NFL, MLB or NBA. They may have history as well, but it’s been a tradition with the Stanley Cup and it’s been photographed in some weird places (including being mugged by Reign public address announcer Jeff Pope).

Four hours before the Stanley Cup was on display Friday at the LA/Ontario International Airport, Cassandra Duong was lined up with her family, eager to take her picture and show her support for hockey.

“This is the hardest achievement to ever get,” said Duong, an Ontario resident. “This is the hardest trophy to obtain. All the work and dedication that any hockey team has to go through to get this, it should be well respected.”

On a cloudy Friday afternoon, the crowd outside Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport drove home the point:

Ontario is a hockey town.

As fans lined up to see the Stanley Cup, some of the final puzzle pieces were being put into place as the Kings and Reign announced that Los Angeles was taking full control of the Ontario franchise, and that it would become the team’s American Hockey League affiliate.

The American Hockey League’s California migration became official Thursday. The Kings will shift their top minor-league team from Manchester, N.H., to Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario and theDucks will move theirs from Norfolk, Va., to the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.